§ 1 The text
NASB
Psalm 139:13-16, NASBFor You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.
“The being in the womb is not yet a person with identity, dignity, or a future.”
§ 2 The argument
David describes a continuous personal identity ('me', 'my') reaching back into the womb, and even to his 'unformed substance' (the earliest embryonic stage). God knows, forms, and ordains the days of the same person who is later praying — there is no point at which a non-person becomes a person; it is one life, known by God from the start.
§ 3 Context & notes
Supplement (not in the transcripts) — the classic personhood psalm and a cornerstone of the abolitionist scriptural case. 'Unformed substance' (Heb. golem) points to the embryo. The first-person continuity is the key argument: the worshiper and the embryo are the same 'I'.
§ 4 Themes
personhood identity God's knowledge embryo dignity providence
§ 5 Discussion questions
- David uses 'me' and 'my' to describe himself in the womb and even as 'unformed substance.' What does that continuity say about when personhood begins?
- If God ordained the days of a life while that life was still an embryo, whose decision is it to end those days?
§ 6 Related
§ 7 Sources
Cited works
Author & type
- Princeton Pro-Life — science compilation